LE SYMPOSIUM INTERNATIONAL LE LIVRE. LA ROUMANIE. L ...

At the borders of the Oriental Latinity... 165
the romanian language, “because it’s best this way” 27 , russmanian 28 –
the active population, while romanian is spoken by the young generation
(mainly those up to 18 years). the process of weakening the language’s
unity is one that continues to unfold, and the ‘rupture’ has its origin
somewhere between the second and the third generations alive.
Despite this, the power of the community seems to restore itself
during encounters brought about by important moments in the life of the
community (weddings, religious ceremonies, charity events, etc.) people
rejoice in meeting one another, even though communicating takes place
through a linguistic amalgam, individuals are unsure about their own
traditions 29 , which thus lose elements with important significations.
III.2. Traditions
Amongst the local elite, the idea that lippovans are the true keepers of
the russian language and traditions is deeply rooted. Moreover, amongst
some lippovan intellectuals’ speech there is the conviction that the russian
civilization can ‘save itself’ only by returning to the traditions stored by
and within the lippovan communities.
Sadly, a great portion of the traditions have lost their meaning, a
phenomenon which can be tied to the decrease in number of the people
who know what these traditions actually mean. We were able to notice,
however, that a few customs are still preserved, such as those related to
the fact that “it is not good for two brides to get married at the same time
because it brings them bad luck, a custom which is no longer respected
by the youth who return from abroad” 30 . Another custom of religious
origin, for example, is the habit to cross one’s self before eating or drinking
anything or the interdiction to eat before or during religious mass. one of
27 one of the frequent moments when it was revealed how the locals relate to the
adopted language was when a boy, possibly an elementary school pupil, was pretending
to be an airplane and was running around reproducing the noises an airplane makes when
dropping to the ground, all the while speaking to everyone around him in romanian. his
mother scolded him in russmanian that he should behave and be quiet. As a reply to the
mother’s scold, an elder nearby stood out from the crowd by stating that “you should let
him speak romanian, it’s best for him that way”.
28 A term we forwarded, an intelligible and functional combination between the
russian and romanian languages.
29 this leads to the irrecoverable loss of significant elements regarding their identity,
their ethnic or religious dimension. this phenomenon has been identified either in the
dominant modern architecture or in the lack of their folk costume, and in what regards
their behavior during religious ceremonies or their linguistic amalgam.
30 informer from slava cercheză.